The Path to Career Readiness Through Additive Manufacturing Certification

We’ve teamed up with Dunwoody College of Technology to offer a certificate in Additive Manufacturing. Students learn how to how to set-up, run, maintain and calibrate 3D printers, and adapt printing techniques to traditional manufacturing processes. The new, hands-on training offers Dunwoody students a path to career readiness not found at many other institutions.

“This certificate offers a baseline standard of what people going into additive manufacturing should know; it’s an all-around understanding of 3D printing,” said Jazmine Darden, the instructor, and alumni, of Dunwoody’s Design for Manufacturing: 3D Printing Certificate program.

At Dunwoody, the additive manufacturing certificate is part of a program offers professional experience in additive manufacturing above and beyond consumer 3D printers. In other words, students in the program don’t just learn how to print widgets, they learn how to design, print, build and inspect real-world parts in state-of-the-art 3D printing labs. Skills industry needs new, and experienced, employees to have.

“I have a student in my class who’s been in the industry for years, he used to be on the mechanical design side of things, then he moved to management and now he wants to go back into design. When he brought his son in for a tour at Dunwoody, he decided to enroll himself. He gives great perspective on how things are done in the industry and how 3D printing will change how he’s been doing various things,” said Darden.

Upon completion of the program, Dunwoody students will have highly sought-after, industry-standard credentials. For students considering additive manufacturing, Darden encourages them to think of the career growth potential of learning such a high-demand skill. A skill many in the industry currently don’t have.

“I think a lot of people, when they think of 3D printing jobs, they think of just running the 3D printers, but that’s not necessarily what this program is; they’re learning how to design and how to be able to 3D print, and that’s what makes this certificate so strong. The fact that they can get their certificate in one year, and go out into industry and start working, it’s exciting.”

For Darden, her work in 3D printing continues to open doors to new opportunities, doors she wants to open to students in the certificate program, and beyond. Dunwoody recently received a $20,000 grant from WITC (Women in Technical Careers) scholarship program. As the lead on the grant, Darden has developed a 3D printing workshop for middle and high school students involved in the GEMS (Girls in Engineering, Math and Science) program through Minneapolis Public Schools in Minnesota.

“We want to get girls excited about STEM and get them interested in Dunwoody. We’ll give them a hands-on experience with all the Stratasys 3D printers,” said Darden. “There’s a whole new level of learning when you actually get to print your project out, see if it actually fits together.”